Matt Wright: Chopper pilot denies ‘raging cocaine junkie’ claim in trial of ‘idolised’ Croc Wrangler boss

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Kristin Shorten
The Nightly
Pilot denies ‘junkie’ claim in trial of Croc Wrangler boss.
Pilot denies ‘junkie’ claim in trial of Croc Wrangler boss. Credit: Supplied/TheWest

The pilot who was flying Outback Wrangler Matt Wright’s chopper when it crashed, killing his mate and leaving him paraplegic, denies the aircraft ran out of fuel or that he was a “raging cocaine junkie”.

Sebastian Robinson – who worked for Mr Wright at the time of the crash – also said he had “idolised” his high-profile boss and broke aviation rules to please him.

On Tuesday, Mr Robinson began giving evidence via video-link at the celebrity croc-wrangler’s criminal trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court.

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The 32-year-old suffered serious injuries, including “a complete sever of my spinal cord” when the helicopter he was flying crashed on February 28, 2022.

The accident, during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land, also killed his friend Chris Wilson, who was slinging beneath the aircraft.

The Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, was owned and operated by Mr Wright’s since-liquidated company Helibrook.

Mr Wright is on trial in Darwin after being charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash.

The 45-year-old Top End tourism operator has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The court heard that Mr Robinson left school after Year 10 and started his Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Licence apprenticeship with North Australian Helicopters, owned by cattle baron and reality television star Milton Jones, when he was 15 or 16 years old.

After about five years, he became a qualified Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer before getting his pilot’s license.

At the time of the accident he was qualified to fly various helicopters, including the R22, R44, R66, B206 Jet Ranger and B206 Long Ranger.

For about two and half years before the fatal crash, Mr Robinson held the position of Head of Airworthiness and Aircraft Maintenance Control (HAAMC) at Helibrook.

The HAAMC is responsible for air worthiness and maintenance of an aircraft and for scheduling maintenance.

Mr Robinson said that was what the HAAMC position “was meant to be … if the rules were followed”.

“Matt controlled all aspects of his aircraft regarding maintenance scheduling,” he said.

“I was never paid to fill the role; it was just a name put forward to CASA (the Civil Aviation Safety Authority) so Helibrook could operate.

“I never received any remuneration for the HAAMC position.”

In the six months leading up to the fatal crash, most of Mr Robinson’s work for Mr Wright was flying his choppers on crocodile egg collecting missions.

“I’d only generally fly the aircraft that was involved in the accident, IDW,” he said.

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked the witness if, during the time he worked for Mr Wright, there had been occasions when the Hobbs meter in Helibrook’s helicopters were disconnected, to which he replied “yes”.

“Similarly, was there a practice at Helibrook, when you flew Mr Wright’s helicopters, of not recording all your flight hours in maintenance releases for the relevant helicopter?” the prosecutor asked. Mr Robinson replied “yes”.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright’s criminal trial in Darwin.
Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright’s criminal trial in Darwin. Credit: /Supplied

The pilot said it was “very common” for the Hobbs meter to be disconnected and not to record all flight hours in the aircraft’s MR.

He said Mr Wright would direct him to ‘pop the clock for this trip’, as in disconnect the Hobbs meter, and his boss benefited from it.

“Because he owned the aircraft and obviously, you’re doing more hours and you’re not recording them, you get, you know, you make the extra money and it prolongs maintenance intervals between having to spend money,” he said.

Mr Robinson said he had become aware of, learnt to and performed disconnecting the Hobbs meter and not recording flight hours while working for other aviation businesses before commencing working for Mr Wright, and that the practise was widespread.

He also “sometimes” disconnected the Hobbs metre and under-recorded flight hours in his own aircraft but “only while working under Helibrook”.

Mr Robinson said pilots who worked for Mr Wright would always follow his orders in relation to disconnecting the hour meter and not recording of flight hours.

“Absolutely. Everyone looked at Matt has an idol and, you know, if he said, ‘jump’, they’d say, ‘how high?’,” he said.

“He’s a major public figure. Everyone wanted to be around him, work for him and, you know, everyone bent over backwards to try and be a part of what he was doing.”

Mr Robinson agreed with Mr Gullaci that Mr Wright had “an aura about him” but when asked what sort of “presence” he had, replied: “I guess it depends on what mood he was in”.

“I wouldn’t say (I was) intimidated but, you know, we were young men,” he said.

“You know, we looked up to him and you know, we just wanted to do our best to make ourselves look good in front of him and do whatever he said.”

Mr Robinson said defects in Mr Wright’s helicopters “were never recorded as far as I know”.

When asked who at Helibrook made the decision not to record defects in the aircraft’s MR, Mr Robinson said “it was just knowing that you don’t”.

“You just ring the engineer,” he said.

In the lead-up to the crash, Mr Robinson said he was planning to leave Helibrook so had applied to CASA for his own Air Operator’s Certificate.

“I was trying to get away,” he said.

“I obtained my AOC approximately two weeks before the accident.”

The court has previously heard that Mr Wright visited Mr Robinson twice, in the days after the crash, while he was in a Brisbane hospital, in an alleged attempt to have the injured pilot falsify flight records.

The court heard that prior to Mr Wright’s hospital visits on March 11 and March 13 in 2022, doctors had delivered Mr Robinson a dire prognosis.

“I was in pretty bad shape and I, you know, they told me that I had a severe spinal injury and that I may never walk again,” he said.

“But, you know, I did my best to try and not believe it and, you know, obviously dealing with a brain injury and everything, I just - it was a very hard time - time for me, yep.”

Mr Gullaci asked Mr Robinson to explain the injuries he had sustained to the jury.

“Yeah, I can, but it obviously makes me a little bit upset, he said.

“Fractured L1, T12, T11, T10 vertebrae resulting in a complete sever of my spinal cord, rendering me a paraplegic.

“I fractured 12 ribs, puncturing both lungs and causing severe internal bleeding. I fractured C6 and C7 vertebrae in my neck.

“I fractured my left elbow, both my ankles and I suffered a traumatic brain injury from, a TBI, from impact.”

He has noticed a marked difference in his cognitive abilities as well as his memory.

“I can’t, you know, when I get put under pressure, what I think I can’t (actually) say, like I can’t put it into words what I’m trying to, what I’m thinking in my brain to what I’m trying to say,” he said.

“I get frustrated very easily.

“I have sleep issues and yeah, mood swings.

“Definitely I’m a different person compared to what I was pre-accident.”

Mr Robinson, who has undergone about 20 surgeries since the crash, said he has no memory of that devastating day.

On Monday, Mr Wright’s defence barrister David Edwardson suggested to witness Jock Purcell that Mr Robinson was a “party animal” and regular cocaine user prior to the crash.

On Tuesday Mr Robinson admitted to occasional drug use but denied ever flying while intoxicated.

He said he had used cocaine “maybe a couple of times a year” in the five years prior to the accident.

“Can you remember if you used cocaine ... in the day or days before the crash?” Mr Gullaci asked.

“I have no recollection of the weeks prior,” Mr Robinson replied.

“Were you a raging cocaine junkie, Mr Robinson?” the prosecutor pushed.

“Not at all,” he replied.

Mr Robinson will continue giving his evidence when the trial before Acting Justice Alan Blow resumes on Wednesday.

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